Facebook deactivated accounts reportedly still being tracked

The biggest social network has been mired in so many controversies and scandals that some have already abandoned the Facebook ship. Others, however, are less convinced, sometimes to keep connected with family and friends, others to take part in activities that only happen there.

If you’re on the fence about ditching the network, however, don’t bother deactivating your account while you take your time to decide. While it does effectively hide you from everyone else, there is really no escaping the Eye of Sauron that is Facebook’s tracking.

Deactivating your Facebook account apparently stands in a rather grey area of Facebook’s privacy policies. On the one hand, that policy clearly states that if “you don’t want to delete your account but want to temporarily stop using the Products, you can deactivate your account instead.”

On the other hand, it doesn’t actually say how that protects your privacy and a new report reveals that it barely does.

Facebook apparently continues collecting your data even if you deactivated your account, just in case you want to return. And Facebook, of course, wants you to return. It’s almost similar to how it continues collecting data even after you’ve logged off your account. Just in case you want to log back in.

The social network may be trying to use a loophole where it doesn’t really say it’s not tracking your account while it’s deactivated. At most, all that state means is that other Facebook users won’t be able to see you. That, unsurprisingly, doesn’t include Facebook.

It may be technically correct but it is deceptive and misleading, which could be grounds to question the legality of the practice. At the moment, the only to really stop Facebook from tracking you is by deleting your account, though you still have a 30-day window where it will continue gathering data – just in case you change your mind. And, of course, Facebook really hopes you will.